I’m a loyal soldier of AAP and there’s no reference to Arvind in the tape: Bhagwant Mann on leaked audio

Aam Aadmi Party’s MP, Bhagwant Mann has broken his silence on the leaked audio of his conversation with the expelled party MP, Dharamvir Gandhi.

Speaking to the news agency, ANI, the comedian turned politician said, “Mai AAP ka wafadaar sipaahi hun aur tape (audio tape) mein kahin bhi Arvind ji ka naam nhi lia gaya (I’m a loyal soldier of Aam Aadmi Party and there’s no reference of Arvind Kejriwal in the tape). This is a result of dirty politics, its their (political detractors’) frustration and this is being done after seeing the rise of AAP in Punjab.”

Mann also said that the party had not sought any clarification from him.

Earlier on Monday, a senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, too had blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for snooping on the party leaders.

He had said, “Such edited audio and video clips are nothing new. People are not interested in all this. Both Bhagwant Mann and Dharamvir Gandhi (expelled AAP leader) have denied that they released the audio clip. Then is Modi Govt recording conversations?”

In the 2.51 min clip, Mann appears to be in conversation with the expelled AAP MP from Patiala, Dr Dharmavir Gandhi.

Supreme Court lawyer and senior AAP leader, HS Phoolka, said there was no need to read too much into this conversation as it was just a private conversation between two individuals.

Gandhi though confirmed the authenticity of this conversation but denied that the audio was leaked by him. According to Punjab Kesri newspaper, Gandhi blamed a ‘government agency’ for both recording this conversation and leaking it subsequently.

The Public Affairs Committee of AAP last month had announced it was suspending two of its MPs from Punjab for indulging in anti-party activities. The two suspended MPs were Dharamavira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa.

The PAC suspended both of them from the primary membership of the party before recommending disciplinary proceedings against them to party’s National Disciplinary Action Committee.